Archive for category: Players.

Lascelles – Taking the reins of the captaincy Since Newcastle United’s previous Premier League relegation, the club were in search of new heroes within their squad and latest Captain and Defender, Jamaal Lascelles, has appeared as just that.

The solid centre back has been superb for the Toon in recent seasons and has become club skipper under the watchful eye of Spanish manager and former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss, Rafael Benitez.

Lascelles was handed the captain’s armband during last season by the experienced Spanish tactician and his performances have improved ever since, becoming a strong leader in the heart of his side’s rearguard in both the Championship and Premier League in recent months. (more…)

Benitez: Knows where he needs to strengthen. It is often said that no club is too big to go down and fallen giants such as Aston Villa and Leeds United are testament to that, but Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in the 2015-16 season was unexpected, and a body blow for the Magpies’ faithful.

However, with a passionate and talented manager in charge, they bounced at the first attempt and the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United will once again be seen at St James’ Park next season.

But will Rafa Benitez be able to keep the club in the Promised Land?

It has been obvious there have been problems between the owner and the managers in recent years which have led to dissention in the stands and ultimately, relegation. (more…)

Gayle: Can he be as prolific in the Premier League? If you took a straw poll of Toon fans, I’m pretty sure that most would agree that Dwight Gayle has been Newcastle United’s player of the season so far, and by some distance for 20 obvious reasons. Signed for around £10 million from Crystal Palace, it might have seemed like quite alot for a player with a bit of an injury record who made alot of his appearences off the bench. To get to the point, I was inspired to bring it up after Crystal Palace and ex-Magpie manager Sam Allardyce was asked by the Croydon Advertiser if he would have got rid of the Championship’s top hitman had he been manager last summer. He replied:

“Goals in the Championship doesn’t relate to goals in the Premier League for some players. I saw Abel Hernandez score 20-odd goals to get Hull up last year and he’s struggled badly this term. (more…)

Moussa Sissoko arriving for Euro 2016 Following a disastrous season to forget at Newcastle United, thoughts among some might be turning to the European Championships starting tomorrow. Moussa Sissoko (France) and Rob Elliot (Republic of Ireland) will be Newcastle United’s only representatives there, though bearing in mind that this will be the biggest shop window for footballers short of the World Cup, this might be a good thing.

Some might wonder how Sissoko managed to book his place with one of the more fancied teams after some of last season’s performnances, some might praise Elliot for some good performances standing in for the injured Tim Krul despite everything. However, players like that will not be the focus of this piece. I’m sure that pretty much all of you will know what they have been up to, along with high profile ex-players taking part such as James Milner (England) and Yohan Cabaye (France). Instead, I will look mostly at the “where are they now” players who will be there who used to ply their trade on Tyneside. Of these, the majority of the players (three out of four) will be playing for the two Irish sides in the competition, and another will be managing the Northern Ireland team.

Lascelles and Darlow: “Outstanding lads” says PearceIn the misery and inertia of Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United, it is good to try and look for the flowers in the cracks of the concrete from time to time to keep oneself sane.

With this in mind, I could have written about younger players like Ayoze Perez, Rolando Aarons etc but then I thought at least we have seen them play in black and white, albeit briefly in Aarons’ case. On the other hand, two more of United’s biggest hopes the the future haven’t been seen at all in Magpie colours. They are the two forgotten men of Newcastle United, 21 year old centre back, Jamaal Lascelles and 24 year old goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who have returned from their loan season at Nottingham Forest.

Signed a season ago from the Tricky Trees for an undisclosed fee which was said to be £6.5 million, the pair were immediately loaned back and forgotten about by many on Tyneside. They are both regarded as very promising players though, and as Alan Pardew used to be fond of saying, ‘It will be like two new signings.’ (more…)